Fukushima Fallout Continues to Wreak Havoc

Radiation leaks, steam releases, disease and death continue to spew from Fukushima in a disaster which is far from over. Its most profound threat to the global ecology—a spent fuel fire—is still very much with us.

The latest steam leak has raised fears around the planet. A worst-case scenario of an on-going, out-of-control fission reaction was dismissed by the owners, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), because they didn’t find xenon in the plume. The company says the steam likely came from rain water being vaporized by residual heat in one of plant’s stricken reactors.

But independent experts tend to disbelieve anything Tepco says, for good reason. Reactor Units One, Two and Three have exploded at Fukushima despite decades of official assurances that commercial atomic power plants could not explode at all. The company has been unable to clear out enough radioactive debris to allow it to put a cover over the site that might contain further airborne emissions.

Tepco has also been forced to admit that it has been leaking radioactive water into the ocean ever since the disaster began on March 11, 2011. In one instance it admitted to a 90-fold increase of Cesium in a nearby test over a period of just three days.

Earlier this year a rat ate through critical electrical cables, shorting out a critical cooling system. When Tepco workers were dispatched to install metal guards to protect the cabling, they managed to short out the system yet again.

Early this month Fukushima’s former chief operator, Masao Yoshida, died of esophogeal cancer at the age of 58. Masao became a hero during the worst of the nuclear disaster by standing firm at his on-site command post as multiple explosions rocked the reactor complex. Tepco claimed his ensuing cancer and death were “unlikely” to have been caused by Fukushima’s radiation.

The impact of work in and near the reactors has become a rising concern. Critics have warned that there are not enough skilled technicians willing to sacrifice themselves at the plant. Tepco has worsened the situation by applying to open a number of its shut reactors elsewhere in Japan, straining its already depleted skilled workforce even further.

Meanwhile, a staggering 40 percent rise in thyroid irregularities among young children in the area has caused a deepening concern about widespread health impacts from Fukushima’s fallout within the general public. Because these numbers have come in just two years after the disaster, the percentage of affected children is expected to continue to rise.

And the worst fear of all remains unabated. At Unit Four, which apparently did not actually explode, the building’s structural integrity has been seriously undermined. Debate continues to rage over exactly how this happened.

But there’s no doubt that a pool containing many tons of highly radioactive, used fuel, is suspended 100 feet in the air, with little left to support the structure. Should an earthquake or other trauma knock the pool to the ground, there’s a high likelihood the fuel rods could catch fire.

In such an event, the radioactive emissions could be catastrophic. Intensely lethal emissions could spew for a very long time, eventually circling the globe many times, wrecking untold havoc.

The Japanese have removed two apparently unused rods from the fuel pool so far. But intense international pressure to clear out the rest of them has thus far been unsuccessful.

So while a depleted, discredited and disorganized nuclear utility moves to restart its other reactors, its stricken units at Fukushima continue to hold the rest of us at the brink of apocalyptic terror.

Comments

Nick Poole

Have you got sources or references for the issues reported here?

Duncan Bray

Nick Poole … sources/references abound online. I moved from Japan because of this. Everything in this article is completely accurate, and the observations made are salient. If I was king of the world, I would immediately shut ALL nuclear facilities, where possible, and start work on alternatives … including the very necessary ‘re-grooving’ of the consumers hypnotized state.

Jane

I read your article and others like it and wonder what people are thinking. We have a dysfunctional Congress and Executive, mainstream media whose focus lasts long enough for advertising $$ from major pharmaceuticals to roll in, and a people interested in the latest gadget…and that’s about it. Those of us around long enough to be real environmentalists know what we face as a planet…and as a people. Unfortunately, a move back to the country can’t fix it any longer. But, thank you for the information and updates, Harvey and EcoWatch.

David Martin

Some promote nukes as a carbon free solution to the climate problem — crazy. Anyone who think nukes is a good idea should read your article, and check out google map’s street view of the abandon memory lanes of fukushima.

Patricia Fenkell

Thank you for your frank report.

An aside. I find it frustrating when articles aren’t dated and photographs not captioned and dated. Please help your readers and give us context, then we can intelligently comment.

Thank you

David

One wonders what could possibly have led anyone to believe that nuclear power was a good idea. Evidently, the scientists involved in developing this ongoing horror waiting to happen were so naive and arrogant as to imagine that they could create such a system that would be safe for all time. Now we have Fukushima and Chernobyl, both ongoing disasters no one seems to be able to arrest, and our own Three Mile Island event, and there are many other disasters sitting there waiting to happen, yet there is no national or international movement at the proper level of governments to replace nuclear power plants with safe alternatives. It wouldn’t be surprising to learn that there have been more incidents than have been reported. There are a number of groups here and around the world concerned with the problem, which is encouraging, but those who want to build more are doing so, apparently with little resistance.

Tepco is broke, a ‘zombie’ corporation with no resources, propped up by Japanese federal contributions.
Yet they want to restart their other reactors, even without any resources to respond to the next disasters that can happen in a tectonically active island nation.

It appears Tepco is desperate for a revenue stream, regardless of the consequenses to Japan or the world. Any other interpretations here?

There is great info & data at http://www.fukushimafacts.com with many useful link & videos, live web cams of the plants experts in the nuclear field who will tell the truth with no sugar coating of the facts. We know the Pacific Ocean has taken a beating & all the eco system it supports. Then you have the economics toll on the fishermen that effects not only Japan by the USA sea food. I have not eat any sea food that is canned that is dated after March 1, 2011 for a reason, it only took a few days for the radiation to spike in the waters off Alaska & on shore, all documented by the US government & people who live in Alaska. If it was not bad, why did the US government have all monitor stations shut off from the public & the EPA raise the legal limits allowed in food by 6000%? You will find details on the EPA’s web site & I think all public comments are now cut off!

Here’s some data you may want to pass to love ones & friends. We have severe problems at Hanford, WA. waste site, also ST Louis & Oak Ridge TN. You can find more info at http://www.enenews.com, hiding the facts has been the US governments SOP for decades, but hiding the deaths of children in the USA that ties into Fukushima is story that needs to be told!

Corporations like GE, Monsanto with ties to the banking cartels of the world should be alarming enough to get people off their butts & to demand answers from congress. Ask why the NRC gives nuke plants that are way past their life to grant them 20 more years to operate & why people who live up wind of nuke plants have a higher rate of illnesses that can be traced to radiation exposer!

The nuclear program is 70 years old, the families of military members who were used in test blast zones just as many famous actors like John Wayne died needlessly from radiation sickness from left over radiation where they film famous movies. Now with each wave hitting the shores of Hawaii & the west coast of the USA leaves a fine mist that turns into dust to be blown in ward on shore. The rain, wind & storms spread it to our lakes & rivers & ground water, then our food & air. If there world wide effort to contain Fukushima our children & their children will look back if they survive & ask why did they not do some thing, Einstein warned them about splitting the atom, when you open that bottle there is no way to put the top back on!

Dirk

Look at the data of record radiation across the US from natural gas production but they will be happy to blame japan it is always somebody elses fault where have all the men went?

marcos

” Masao Yoshida, died of esophogeal cancer at the age of 58 “. Tepco also said that it could not have been related to Fukushima because the cancer had come on to quickly.
The man lived and breathed in that disaster, explosions and all.

As far as why we have Nuclear power reactors, it seems to me that really came as a by-product of our development and production on Nuclear WMD.

http://www.mycostaricafarm.com mycostarica*Farmer

Doesn’t it seem strange? We have these vast global resources, able to manipulate anybody and everything..yet something that threatens our very existence isn’t addressed?

Shadow

This photo is not Fukushima nuclear accident but oil plant fire in Miyagi prefecture.